Wonders of the Ancient World: François Fouquet's Model Masterpieces

An exhibition of models of the great buildings and monuments of ancient Greece, Rome and the Near East, made by the architectural model maker and artist François Fouquet. They include representations of the Parthenon, Arch of Hadrian and Tower of Winds in Athens, the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus and the Temple of Fortuna Virillis in Rome. Fouquet produced detailed plaster-of-Paris models, showing the buildings of the ancient world as they might have appeared when first constructed. Soane bought 20 models, which were made between 1790 and 1830 for architects and collectors in Paris, in 1834 for £100. As the Professor of Architecture at the Royal Academy from 1806-1837, he taught scientific and artistic principles of construction and used the models to illustrate the history of architectural development.